Drillers added 2 oil rigs in the week ended Nov. 13,
bringing the total rig count up to 574, oil services company
Baker Hughes Inc said in its closely followed report.

That total is about a third of the 1,578 oil rigs operating
in same week a year ago. Over the prior 10 weeks, drillers cut
103 oil rigs.

The additions this week showed that at least some drillers
were willing to start drilling again even with U.S. oil prices
trading in the $40s a barrel in hopes of higher prices in the
future.

U.S. oil futures averaged $43 a barrel so far this
week, down from $46 last week.

Crude futures were on track for their biggest weekly loss in
more than two months as swelling stocks weighed on the market.
In the minutes after Baker Hughes released the report,
U.S. crude prices dipped about 20 cents to around $40.50 a
barrel.

Energy traders noted the rate of weekly oil rig reductions
over the past two months, about 10 on average, was much lower
than the 19 rigs cut on average over the past year or so since
the number of rigs peaked at 1,609 in October 2014, due in part
to expectations of slightly higher prices in the future.

U.S. crude futures for next year were trading around $46 a
barrel, according to the full year 2016 calendar strip
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That however was down from
$49 last week.
Continued...